Major Freak Out - What should I have done differently?

[BRT]

Yes, I do. I'm adding another attachment point from my camera to my BP/W (XDeep Zeos for cold water, Ghost for warm). Now if that breaks, I don't know it anymore. Normally, I clip it onto one of the D rings on my left side. I'll let it hang a little bit, but sometimes I have to grab the camera so that the viewfinder doesn't get banged around. I can't flip it around, as I don't want to scratch the port. Now when I get a dome port for my 24 mm lens, then I have to be more careful for it to not get scratched. I'll try that new lanyard you see in the picture below with the suicide clips and encased cable to have it hang down from the D-ring on my croctch strap. That should probably work. I'll just unclip from the left side of my harness and clip onto the D-ring on my crotch strap.

And yes, I often inflate my DSMB from my bladder via the low pressure inflator hose when I'm floating midwater so I maintain depth (safety stops are not exciting). Over the weekend, the boat captain gave me some tips if I ever dive Galloping Gerdie, the old Tacoma Narrows bridge (you have seen the film in physics class). Basically he said, be on the sea floor, blast air into the DSMB, let it fly, then at some point, let the reel clamp on, so that you get yanked up at least 20' so you clear all the metal posts that stick up 20 feet. You don't want to hit one of those while drifting in a 5 naut current. So of course I'll practice this without my camera, at probably 100' or so, in a calm conditions.View attachment 215467

If you go from 100 to 80 in a hurry you may make the rest of the trip up.

 

[ktomlinson]

The blue clip you show is what we use and it's great. You're going to love it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Diver0001]

Really? In OW and AOW I was never taught how to use an SMB and never had it suggested to me to own one. I'm surprised this is considered common knowledge. I have only seen a few other recreational divers carrying one, and they have typically been DM's themselves or rescue divers. I see now that it's a good idea though and I will definitely invest in one and learn to use it.

It's only recently been added to the OW standards.

I wouldn't worry about this or any other dive. Just tell DM's that you're not willing to do swim-throughs or overheads.

Just reading your story it sounds like you were caught out by your reaction although between the lines, even though you said you were relaxed, it sounds like you were aware of being slightly claustrophobic. It sounds like the situation was getting potentially very serious. Your decision to abort was absolutely sound, regardless of the adrenaline. Better communication may have been possible but I'm not sure you were in the frame of mind to do anything but survive. If you weren't able to raise the DM's attention then you could have tried to communicate with the other divers giving the "something wrong" and "abort" signs. Do you know the "abort" sign? Most divers use this (often with fists instead of open hands):



I see here some lessons for the DM too. If I were guiding divers in tunnels then I wouldn't just let one of them take off and then carry on like nothing happened. It seems very peculiar to me that he would have done that. In any case saying to you that you should have carried on with the plan in the state of mind you were in is utterly daft and in my opinion completely wrong. You made the right call. The plan isn't paramount, your safety is paramount.

As for waiting under water to connect up with them, sometimes this is a reasonable thing to do and other times not. It sounds like you made a choice based on some risk factors (being alone on the surface without an SMB where there is boat traffic, etc.) and it worked out. This decision will be different in every context. One tip for that is that if you DO end up on the surface without an SMB and you want to warn boats of your presence there then you can take off a fin and hold it high above your head to increase the chance that they see you. Having a whistle is a good idea too if you don't have one.

R..

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

If you go from 100 to 80 in a hurry you may make the rest of the trip up.

Hence the importance to practice without anything to encumber me. I'd probably empty my drysuit, suck it up with the suit squeeze, empty all the air out of my BCD, etc. Rinse and repeat until I get a hang of it and can do it safely. Then try it one handed. You get the idea.

---------- Post added August 27th, 2015 at 05:22 PM ----------

The blue clip you show is what we use and it's great. You're going to love it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The one with the suicide clips? Or the one with plastic? If the latter, I respectfully disagree. I do not have a lot of faith in the plastic clip as it mounts to the webbing. I've been warned by someone who learned the hardway that it isn't that strong. Remember that this is a big camera and isn't cheap. Hence today's purchase of the steel cables attached by suicide clips.

 

[ktomlinson]

I just checked it and it is the same, with the plastic weak points. Granted, the camera rig we had was only a $3000 rig, but I still didn't want to lose it. It never failed us, on at least 100 dives. It's now being used for a much smaller camera.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Diver0001]

I may catch from flak for this... but you said earlier that "everyone can panic". That is certainly true, but there is a BIG difference in panicking at the mere thought of something and panicking when the s#$@ actually hits the fan. In your case, nothing ACTUALLY happened. You only had anxiety because your brain went wild.

The way I see it, once you panic, you're broken. It doesn't matter if the trigger was real or imagined. Broken is broken and irregardless panic is very dangerous. I'll give you an example. A friend of mine was doing a deep dive with a diver who became very stressed during the dive, contrary to everyone's expectations. It was cold, it was dark, it was "much worse" than the diver had imagined. At one point without any warning signs whatsoever, he panicked and threw off his mask and threw out is regulator, inhaled water and passed out. He nearly drowned.

And realistically up to that point there was nothing, to use your words, ACTUALLY happening. The point being here that once someone starts to panic it no longer matters why.

I think what you may have been trying to say is that in the situation you can remind yourself that there is nothing ACTUALLY happening in order to brace yourself and avoid panicking. I would agree with that. Many people can do that to some extent in some contexts. Phobias are another matter, however. A phobia is an irrational fear, meaning that it's hard to fight by just being rational about it.

Try doing easy dives without a DM to build confidence in yourself.

I think this is good advice.

R..

 

[ktomlinson]

I do agree that if you panic you should probably take up a new sport. I think OP is in a different situation because although it caused retreat, the anxiety didn't cause them to forget to tell the others and didn't bolt for the surface. I'd take it really slow and easy for a while to make sure though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Storker]

Much more delicate. What isn't shown in the picture, as it is on the back, is the viewfinder that protrudes. Given that the cost of this setup is over $10K and that it isn't a hammer, I'm pretty damn careful with it. Not sure if people are getting that.

You and I obviously have different priorities and/or live in different worlds.

I don't have the luxury to depend on DMs, guides and boat crew to help me out in my diving. Most of it is either shore diving or from small boats where what you can hope for is someone handing you the rig after you've splashed and grabbing it from you just before you climb aboard. On shore dives I often have noticeable surface swims to get back to the shore, and on my boat dives the boat tender often strongly prefers me shooting a dSMB from my safety stop. Also, I have to be able to assist my buddy if that's needed; if I were to put priority on shooting and camera handling over my buddy obligations I'd run out of buddies pretty fast.

So if I'm going to carry a camera I can't afford to let it interfere much with my diving. If I can't dive properly with a camera, I won't carry it.

One of the guys I've dived with is an avid cave diver and carries a dSLR, and since his skills surpass mine by a wide margin, he's even more self-reliant that I am. Here's how he does it:

I'm not 100% happy with the way it is clipped on (something like this). So I'm not letting go of with one of my hands. And I don't want it banging around to cause it to flood at the viewfinder (a $1200 item).
View attachment 215464

I have one of those lanyards myself, but I've switched that puny suicide clip with a large-ish bolt snap, the type with a large ring at the base like the ones the tec guys are using for stage bottle rigging. It clips comfortably and securely to my left hip D-ring, and if something happens so I have to assist my buddy, I just let go of the rig to leave it dangling from its tether. With the ring threaded onto my camera tray and a boltsnap securely clipped to my harness, I have no problems letting the rig go even if it has cost me a solid chunk of money. I've tied a standard size boltsnap to a shackle on the right tray arm clamp, and that boltsnap is easy to clip to my left shoulder D-ring for surface swims, picking scallops or deploying a dSMB. That way, the rig doesn't interfere more with my diving than a slung pony does. At least if I fold the strobe arms first, like the guy in my picture has done with his rig.

 

[Diver0001]

I do agree that if you panic you should probably take up a new sport.

I don't recall suggesting this. Personally I think everyone has limits and everyone has a breaking point. My point was that *if* someone panics, it doesn't matter why.

Normally if a diver sticks to their comfort zone then there would be no reason to panic. So building on what you're saying I would suggest that communication is important. If the whole team is aware of each diver's comfort zone then they can plan the dive to fall in the "overlap".

The fact that scubajay was feeling a little panicky in that situation says to me that he over-reached his comfort zone and shouldn't do *that* again. If there's really a take-home message in this thread, then I believe this is it.

I didn't read this thread as being about panic at all, tbh. I read it as being about understanding comfort zone and communication.

R..

 

[Doc Harry]

I have been to Cozumel many times, and I am full cave certified, but I still refuse to do Devil's Throat for many reasons:

-It is a dive that is beyond the training of most people who are there

-I am not interested in getting into an overhead environment with a single cylinder

-I am not interested in being in an overhead environment with people who shouldn't be there and who may panic

-Whether you realize it or not, you're narc'd at 130 feet

-etc.

scoobajay, I think the big take home message for you is that you have to decide whether or not the dive plan is appropriate for your level of training and experience before you jump into the water.

Also where was your buddy? How did you end up alone? As you discovered, being part of a group is not the same as having a buddy who is looking after you.

You survived, congrats. Been there myself, done that. Survived, learned, moved on.